The deadline for NHL clubs to issue offers is today. By issuing qualifying offers to the aforementioned players, the Lightning are given the right of the first refusal or draft choice compensation should the player sign an offer sheet with another NHL club.

Aulie, 6-foot-6, 228 pounds, skated in 45 of 48 games with the Lightning in 2012-13, recording two goals and seven points while averaging 12:49 in ice time. He set career highs for games played, points and penalty minutes (60) in a season. He led all Tampa Bay skaters for hits with 91 and ranked second for penalty minutes.

A native of Rouleau, Saskatchewan, Aulie has played in 121 career NHL games with Tampa Bay and the Toronto Maple Leafs. He has recorded four goals and 12 points with 121 penalty minutes. Aulie made his NHL debut during the 2010-11 season with Toronto and played in 40 games while scoring two goals.

Aulie, 24, has played in 110 career AHL games with the Norfolk Admirals, Toronto Marlies and the Abbotsford Heat, notching five goals and 18 points. He won the Calder Cup with Norfolk during the 2011-12 season while in the Lightning organization. Aulie played in 18 games with the Admirals during the playoffs that year, recording a goal and six points.

The blue-liner was acquired from Toronto in exchange for forward Carter Ashton on February 27, 2012. Aulie was originally drafted by the Calgary Flames in the fourth round, 116th overall, in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

By defeating the Panthers, the Lightning extended their divisional lead to three points as Winnipeg fell in regulation to Montreal. After taking a 2-1 lead into the first period, Tampa Bay put together its best middle frame of the season, outscoring Florida 2-0 in the process, before closing out the visiting state rivals. The Panthers were visibly frustrated for much of the final twenty minutes of action and took three misconduct penalties, including a ten minute infraction on Tomas Kopecky.

Steven Stamkos opened the scoring with a power play marker shortly after the first period midpoint and Cory Conacher followed with a tally of the highlight reel variety. Tom Pyatt, Dana Tyrell and Vincent Lecavalier also scored for the Lightning. Lecavalier finished a beautiful passing sequence set up initially by Victor Hedman, who carried the puck into the Panthers end, banked a pass off the end boards to Cory Conacher who sent a drop-pass to a trailer, Benoit Pouliot, who wasted no time firing a cross-ice feed through a soft spot in Florida's defensive coverage to the opposite hash and directly into the Lightning captain's wheelhouse.

Despite the lopsided result and with the Lightning much more sound and consistent defensively, the Lightning were still far from flawless. The Panthers managed several breakaways, one of which they scored on, and other quality scoring chances as a result of no-look passes, poor reads and, in one instance, an Anders Lindback turnover after stopping a dump-in, holding the puck too long and attempting a last-second clear. The puck sailed right into hard-charging Peter Mueller, leaving Lindback vulnerable behind his own net and caused him to scramble back into position. The miscue ended costing Tampa Bay its early lead just fifteen seconds after earning it at the other end of the ice as Mueller was able to jam in his own rebound after trying to bank the puck in the net off of Lindback.

In his postgame remarks, Boucher wouldn't admit to being concerned about Lindback's tendency so far this season to allow a weak goal or two, stressing instead the need to "have patience" with the goalies, especially a young netminder like Lindback who is still developing.

"He's got to feel he's allowed to make mistakes," Boucher added. "We have his back because he has the players' backs very often."

Bailing out the skaters in front of him Lindback did do, delivering some key saves in the match, including a stop on a shorthanded breakaway attempt by Scottie Upshall early in the first period. On the play, Upshall went to his backhand and, with the entire bottom portion of the net taken away by a tremendously extended left leg, tried unsuccessfully to lift the puck over the Lindback's glove.

One of the other promising developments to date this season has been the return of scoring depth as it is not only the top lines but also the bottom lines that are producing. Through six games, the Lightning have nine forwards who have found the net.

Last night it was speedy wingers Tyrell and Pyatt chipping in and, while they were on the ice together, looking like a dynamic duo as they worked feverishly and threw their bodies around at both ends while leading rapid, north-south counter-rushes and continually driving the net.

Benoit Pouliot, too, was also a force as he matched a physical presence that led to several punishing checks with consistent back-checking and efficient (and sometimes flashy) puck movement be it by skating or passing it. Even accounting for an egregious turnover at mid-ice while on a power play that resulted in a shorthanded goal against, Pouliot had what was, so far, probably easily his best showing as a Bolt.

"That third line gets on and they're very difficult to stop because of their speed," Boucher said in praise of the unit. "They play deep, 200-feet hockey. They tire the other team out."

Anders Lindback stopped 26 of 28 for the victory. He had a bone headed puck handling gaffe that cost him the first goal he allowed. If he can clear up some of the mistakes, his numbers are going to start looking quite nice.

With the Panthers already off to a 1-4 start, this was an opportunity for the Lightning to really put their rivals behind the 8-ball in a 48 game shortened season and they capitalized on it big time. Killer instinct. You also have to like how the shots against and goals against are creeping to acceptable levels.

Keith Aulie was +1 with 3 hits in 12:24. Tonight was Aulie's 82nd NHL game, graduating him from prospect status on the website. Aulie becomes a Bolt Prospects Alumni joining the likes of the afore mentioned Tyrell.

Conacher had 1 goal and 1 assist and was +1 with 2 penalty minutes and 3 shots in 13:05. Standard Honey Badger stat line. He was also hosed on a holding call chasing a loose puck that would have resulted in a breakaway goal.

The Lightning got off to a rocky start falling behind at the tail end of the game's opening shift but after seeing Vincent Lecavalier drop his mitts and go toe-to-toe with Flyers defenseman Luke Schenn and surviving four-minutes down a man after B.J. Crombeen was charged with three minors on the same shift and only drew a single penalty, Tampa Bay took control, seizing a 3-1 lead heading into the second period. The Flyers regrouped in the middle frame, earning two additional power plays and peppering Lindback with eleven shots while mostly holding the Lightning offense in check, but were unable to convert any chances. Tampa Bay scored early in and nearly midway through the third period to put the game out of reach and leave the visiting bench and their supporters in the crowd stunned.

"After the emotion came down, our players stayed focused for the rest of the game," Boucher said.

The Lightning got plenty of production out of their key forwards as Vinny Lecavalier, Teddy Purcell and Steven Stamkos all scored and Marty St. Louis racked up four assists. Purcell tied the game late in the first period when he skated into a feed from Stamkos, who, trying to find Purcell, took a quick pass in tight space from St. Louis in the slot, wheeled around and sent the puck into open space towards the right hash. Lecavalier cranked a vintage one-timer from the left circle high that beat Leighton high to extend the Lightning's lead to 3-1. Eric Brewer and Victor Hedman, who's been much more decisive about and aggressive in heading up ice to lead or join rushes than he has been in seasons past, also scored for Tampa Bay. Boucher touched on this progression in Hedman's play, crediting the presence of Carle and Salo as relieving some of the pressure on both the young defender and the vet Brewer, suggesting that they particularly allow Hedman some "freedom" before clarifying that when Hedman is making reads, he's now "not as scared to see the opening and take advantage of it."

"We're a very, very different team. We're big now, we're tough and we're committed to defense," Boucher said before elaborating, "You add that to our offense and it certainly makes for something positive right now."

Aside from allowing a bad angle goal when Sean Couturier sent a "shot" from the boards near the goalline to his right than snuck in between his skate and the post just 0:59 in, Anders Lindback managed to keep his composure and was otherwise superb tonight. He stopped the remaining twenty-four shots he faced, including high-quality scoring chances that came from a few odd-man rushes and several attempts from prime real estate. In particular, it was a sprawling left pad save on Matt Read nearly midway through the first with the Flyers still on the power play that seemed to turn momentum in the Lightning's favor.

"At some point he just shuts the door," Boucher said in praise of the young Swede, adding, "That's the mark of good goaltenders. He battles, he's got talent, has an amazing attitude and never gets nervous. That's a good mix."

With Boucher opting to skate twelve forwards and six defensemen, Dana Tyrell was back in the lineup at the expense of Marc-Andre Bergeron. Brendan Mikkelson and P.C. Labrie were the other scratches. Despite not playing since last Monday's away tilt against the Islanders, Labrie was in high spirits and eager to share how excited he is to be a part of the big club and eagerly awaits his next opportunity. He made sure to mention how refreshed he feels after playing nearly half of a season with Syracuse, adding that the short training camp helped him re-focus and boosted his confidence since he wasn't able to display what is such a big part of his game: hitting and fighting. He also touched on how being called up and sticking with the Lightning has provided the opportunity to learn from B.J. Crombeen, whom the young forward says he watches intently during games to soak in and learn as much as he can from the veteran grinder.

Anders Lindback allowed 1 goal on 25 shots for the victory. His one goal allowed was of the stinky doo doo variety with a puck sneaking by his skate on the post. Had it not been for that, he'd have had the shutout.

Vincent Lecavalier, Sami Salo, and Martin St. Louis were the game's three stars. I don't know when it happened, but evidently Lecavalier became Mark Messier over the offseason. His bout with Luke Schenn in the first period changed the momentum after Lindback's softie, and that and the penalty kill essentially won the game.

Keith Aulie was -1 with 1 shot, 2 hits, and 3 blocked shots in 13:25. Aulie will graduate from prospect status on Bolt Prospects in his next NHL game.

Cory Conacher had 1 shot in 12:57. They can't all be multi-point nights.

Anders Lindback stopped 32 of 36 for the victory. One the one hand, the defense gave up way too many breaks, partial breaks, and odd man rushes for the first two periods of the game. On the other hand, he looked like stinky doo doo allowing some pucks through him and not being tight to the post on another near goal. I would say this was clearly his first subpar game in a Lightning uniform.

Ryan Malone and Sami Salo were the game's first and second stars. Your biggest goal of the night on Vincent Lecavalier's night was Hedman's late Second Period goal set up by a big faceoff win and a solid screen in front of the net. This might well have been an Ottawa bloodbath without that goal, because the rest of the Second Period is pretty much footage the Lightning would like to see burned.

Obviously, it's not sustainable to keep trying to win these games with these 80's style high scores. The pieces are there for the Lightning to get better defensively, but it needs to take a couple of weeks, not a couple of months.

Keith Aulie was -2 with 16 penalty minutes, 3 shots, 3 hits, and 2 blocked shots in 13:14, and he looked like he was going to kill every single man, woman, and child associated with the Ottawa organization following a goalmouth scrum late in the game.

Cory Conacher had 2 assists and was +1 with 1 shot in 16:13. The second assist, which came on Malone's first goal, was all Conacher jumping on a defenseman and stripping the puck for a sharp, decisive pass out to Salo for the big bomb from the point. One very good trait Conacher has: he moves the puck quickly, decisively, and hard.

The Lightning deployed their secret weapon, Keith Aulie who reduced a former Cup winning goaltender to ash with a short side bullet for his first goal of the season. Keith Aulie has 2 points in 3 games now. I would've bet on just about every other player on the Lightning having 2 points or more right now before #3 would. Good for the big guy.

Aulie had 1 goal and was +1 with 1 shot, 1 hit, and 2 blocked shots in 12:20.

Conacher also had 1 goal and was +1 with 2 penalty minutes and 2 shots in 14:12. That's looking like the standard Conacher stat line early this year.

The Lightning mounted a furious comeback attempt, scoring three goals in less than six minutes, but ultimately found, not surprisingly, that their four-goal hole early in the third period proved insurmountable. Tampa Bay was outshot 44-26 for the game by New York, which frustrated the Lightning attack throughout much of the first two periods. As Tampa Bay began to press and the team's structure unraveled, the Islanders were able to generate multiple breakaways and odd-man rushes, of which all of New York's goals were the result of.

"We were opening up the game," coach Guy Boucher explained afterward. "We were trying to get the goal, getting impatient."

Anders Lindback, who made 40 saves in his second start with the team, might want the last two goals he gave up back but it's hard to find fault with his performance on a night where many of the shots he faced were quality scoring chances.

Pierre-Cedric Labrie, who was scratched along with Brendan Mikkelson and Dana Tyrell in Saturday night's season opener in Tampa, made his season debut in place of Marc-Andre Bergeron as Boucher opted for a full complement of forwards instead of dressing seven defensemen. Labrie and B.J. Crombeen both started the game alongside Vincent Lecavalier, who played his 1,000th game. After the initial puck drop, both Labrie and Crombeen dropped their gloves and engaged fellow toughs Joe Finley and Matt Martin, respectively, in simultaneous fights.

"We wanted to bring some emotion to start," Boucher said. "We didn't want to look horrible like we did last year."

Whatever energy the team received from the tactic, it didn't seem to matter much as the Lightning suffered from a familiar case of inconsistency as the game wore on.

Need we say the obvious? You can't fall behind 4 goals in the Third Period and expect to win. 3 goals should be a death sentence in pro hockey anyways. It's worse when you don't have the conditioning to dig deep in the last 5-10 minutes of a Third Period because of a lockout. Can't do it. They showed a lot of pride to make a game of it, but can't do it.